Hello and let the learning begin!!

[bitbyter]

Hello everyone, I'm in the early stages of investigating setting up a small meat rabbitry in my urban backyard. I live in Southern Ontario, Canada so I have both hot summers and cold winters to deal with. I think I've got enough space in my backyard for 3 Does and 2 Bucks, plus their grow-outs. As I live in an urban setting, dealing with their waste will be important not to anger my neighbours so any tips on that would be appreciated. I'm leaning towards hutches with slant boards to separate the urine and feces. Anyhow, I'm in the process of combing through all the great information here and I'm sure you'll see lots of questions from me in the coming months.

My current top-of-mind questions are:

1. Advice on dealing with waste (ultimate goal is to keep it as clean and odour-free as possible)
2. Size of wire needed to protect from rats (no evidence that this will be needed but I know they are around)
3. Are continuous loop heated water systems worth the money, time and complexity (-20 c temps are possible but winters have been getting milder over the years)?
4. How likely is the above style of watering system to fail and leave you in the lurch in the middle of winter?
5. I've seen misting systems mentioned for hot weather...what are the pros and cons of those (34 c temps in the summer are common, hotter with humidex)?
6. 3 + 2 + grow-outs...is growing fodder as their main food source (besides hay & supplemental pellets) a practical/doable goal?

Those are all I can think of at the moment.

 

[Her Farmstead Rabbitry]

Hi welcome, I know you will grow to love rabbits as we all have! I have an outdoor hutch that the waste just falls to the ground. Every so often it will smell so I use a shovel to spread it in the yard. I have also heard you can sprinkle the mineral lime or wood ash on top as a natural deodorizer. I cannot vouch for this as I have not tried it.

 

[Lil Acorn Acres Farm]

Hello everyone, I'm in the early stages of investigating setting up a small meat rabbitry in my urban backyard. I live in Southern Ontario, Canada so I have both hot summers and cold winters to deal with. I think I've got enough space in my backyard for 3 Does and 2 Bucks, plus their grow-outs. As I live in an urban setting, dealing with their waste will be important not to anger my neighbours so any tips on that would be appreciated. I'm leaning towards hutches with slant boards to separate the urine and feces. Anyhow, I'm in the process of combing through all the great information here and I'm sure you'll see lots of questions from me in the coming months.

My current top-of-mind questions are:

1. Advice on dealing with waste (ultimate goal is to keep it as clean and odour-free as possible)
2. Size of wire needed to protect from rats (no evidence that this will be needed but I know they are around)
3. Are continuous loop heated water systems worth the money, time and complexity (-20 c temps are possible but winters have been getting milder over the years)?
4. How likely is the above style of watering system to fail and leave you in the lurch in the middle of winter?
5. I've seen misting systems mentioned for hot weather...what are the pros and cons of those (34 c temps in the summer are common, hotter with humidex)?
6. 3 + 2 + grow-outs...is growing fodder as their main food source (besides hay & supplemental pellets) a practical/doable goal?

Those are all I can think of at the moment.

I use PDZ on the urine places after taking up the poop.

 

[eco2pia]

I am in town and I agree that letting things fall to the ground has generally been the least stinky for me. flies can be a bigger problem, and I have had good luck with:

1. keeping things dry
2. composting manure in a controlled, maintained pile before spreading it
3. purchasing a fly predator subscription

I would do 2 +1 +grow outs to start, but that is just me. Fodder growing feasibility depends very much on your growing area and available time, but I think there are a number of people on here who feed naturally in Ontario. Particularly, I would look at posts by @MaggieJ using the search feature.

 

[bitbyter]

I am in town and I agree that letting things fall to the ground has generally been the least stinky for me. flies can be a bigger problem, and I have had good luck with:

1. keeping things dry
2. composting manure in a controlled, maintained pile before spreading it
3. purchasing a fly predator subscription

I would do 2 +1 +grow outs to start, but that is just me. Fodder growing feasibility depends very much on your growing area and available time, but I think there are a number of people on here who feed naturally in Ontario. Particularly, I would look at posts by @MaggieJ using the search feature.

Thanks for the feedback. Letting it fall to the ground is less stinky than a slant board system that separates urine and feces? Lastly, what is a fly predator subscription?

I probably will start with a trio but intend to expand a bit once I get the hang of things.

For fodder, I was thinking of setting up a system similar to this one: YouTube Link

 

[bitbyter]

I use PDZ on the urine places after taking up the poop.

Unfortunately, I can't get Sweet PDZ locally. I used to use a similar product called "Stableboy" when I was breeding ASF's but it's no longer available through my local farm stores.

 

[CedarRidge]

Welcome. Try this thread for how I handle poop. How we handle poop.. the Pics are primarily of my poop sifting system but you can also see my slant boards. I installed corrugated tin under my hutches, angled towards each other. I installed metal flashing on the back side to keep waste off the walls, and flashing on the front, hinged with zip ties to allow for access, to keep waste from coming out front. Legs, which are on wheels, sit in pans. We brush the poop daily into the center. Then pour water down as well to rinse. Any residual water that hits the legs get caught in the pans. Our setup is on concrete in a shed, and we have had no issue with staining or odor. .everything stays contained.
i have a 3 holer (does) and a 2 holer (bucks) seperated by a removable drop in board that holds both together and serves as a shelf for my watering system. Everything is on wheels, and can be taken apart without tools in minutes, and individually rolled to wherever I need.

 

[bitbyter]

Welcome. Try this thread for how I handle poop. How we handle poop.. the Pics are primarily of my poop sifting system but you can also see my slant boards. I installed corrugated tin under my hutches, angled towards each other. I installed metal flashing on the back side to keep waste off the walls, and flashing on the front, hinged with zip ties to allow for access, to keep waste from coming out front. Legs, which are on wheels, sit in pans. We brush the poop daily into the center. Then pour water down as well to rinse. Any residual water that hits the legs get caught in the pans. Our setup is on concrete in a shed, and we have had no issue with staining or odor. .everything stays contained.
i have a 3 holer (does) and a 2 holer (bucks) seperated by a removable drop in board that holds both together and serves as a shelf for my watering system. Everything is on wheels, and can be taken apart without tools in minutes, and individually rolled to wherever I need.

Yep! That thread is one I have already bookmarked. I've got some ideas for my slant board system but am still tweaking things. Can't decide if I want to stack two cages/hutches vertically or not. It makes any slant board setup more difficult but saves so much real estate vs. a single row of cages.

 

[TKT]

Welcome to this awesome community!

 

[eco2pia]

Thanks for the feedback. Letting it fall to the ground is less stinky than a slant board system that separates urine and feces? Lastly, what is a fly predator subscription?

I probably will start with a trio but intend to expand a bit once I get the hang of things.

For fodder, I was thinking of setting up a system similar to this one: YouTube Link

Last question first:
Fly predators are little tiny wasp type things that kill fly larvae, which reduces your overall population, much like releasing ladybugs for aphids or something. You can find places online who will ship some to you monthly and you release them near your hutches, etc. They do seem to make a dent, I have found. As I don't want to promote any one company, I will just say if you google "fly predator subscription" or "natural fly control" you will likely come across a LOT of information.

Re: Urine
I find that letting it fall is less stinky because the urine drains immediately to soil where it presumably is broken down by soil microbes, and is no longer up in the air...smelling. Everything is dry, because the roof of the hutch or shed prevents rainfall on the soil there, so the soil is very absorbent. Also my soil specifically is sandy and drains well. The urine on the slant boards and in the buckets was very smelly and you needed to constantly clean the slant boards to prevent scaly build up. It is maybe easier to understand if you think about what would happen if you peed in a bucket in your house, and then dumped it in the toilet....without ever rinsing the bucket. Within days the bucket would smell even without pee in it. That is what a slant board does. If you are willing to rinse it daily, or if your climate is maybe much less humid than mine or something, maybe your experience will be better, but in general rabbit pee is SMELLY. Getting it to go away as fast as possible is definitely the goal. For me that means letting it soak into the dirt, because it takes less effort and I am all about chore automation when possible.